Monday, March 26, 2012

WEATHER ANOMALIES: Hailstone Declared Largest on Record to Hit Hawaii!

At 4.25 inches long, 2.25 inches tall and 2 inches wide, a hailstone
that fell on the windward side of Oahu this month has been declared the
largest on record to hit Hawaii, the National Weather Service announced. Records for Hawaii go back to 1950 and the previous record was a relatively puny 1 inch in diameter.

"The record-setting hailstone was dropped by a supercell thunderstorm
on the windward side of Oahu and produced large hail in Kaneohe and
Kailua," the service said in a statement. "Numerous reports of hail with
diameters of 2 to 3 inches and greater were reported. Hail to
the size of golf balls and baseballs can only form within intense,
thunderstorms called 'supercells'," the service added. "These supercells
need warm, moist air to rise into progressively colder, drier air; as
well as winds changing direction and increasing speed with increasing
height off the ground.

For both sets of conditions to exist at the same
time in Hawaii is extremely rare, but did occur on March 9. Conditions
were ideal for a supercell to form, which on National Weather Service
radar imagery looked exactly like such storms in the central portions of
the contiguous United States where severe hail larger than an inch in
diameter is most common." The March 9 supercell also spawned a tornado with winds of 60-70 mph in Lanikai and Enchanted Lakes on Oahu. A
hailstone that hit Vivian, S.D., on July 23, 2010, holds the U.S record
for largest diameter (8 inches) and for weight (1.938 pounds). A
hailstone in Aurora, Neb., on June 22, 2003, has the largest
circumference (18.75 inches). - MSNBC.